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A beautifully silky Pinot Noir from Touraine young gun Valentin Desloges. Valentin worked with soul brothers Raphaël Coche (Coche-Dury) and Thierry Pillot (Domaine Paul Pillot) before returning home to take control of his father’s vines, so we were rather excited to see what he could do with his Pinot Noir in the Loire Valley’s northern climate. Spoiler alert: we are not disappointed!
The Pinot is drawn from 25-year-old vines in the “Quatre Piliers” lieu-dit in Noyers-sur-Cher in the right bank of the Loire River. In the cellar, the grapes are macerated for 11 days, then fermented and aged in 228-litre barrels made using oak staves from the nearby Loches forest.
Expect lovely, tender depth of sweet fruit with the flow of redcurrant and spiced cherry leading to something more earth-mineral. Silken and textural, the wine’s clear and refreshing acidity provides mouth-watering balance while tapering, featherlight tannins add to the overall class.